The Wartime Adventures of the Lost Dreams Squad

Operation Ostend Steamer

The LDS is escorted by Codename Amber to a rendezvous with Agent Brunelle, an SOE Lieutenant who operates a large Resistance network in Ostend, Belgium. They meet in a buried boxcar near Hondschoote, France. Brunelle explains that Baker Street wants to stop civilian merchant fleets assisting Germany. They want the LDS to “make an example” of a tramp steamer and its captain. They have chosen the Nectaris, which should be arriving in Ostend shortly. Using a plan developed by Brunelle, the LDS sneaks across the Belgian border and into Ostend.

In Ostend, the LDS develops a bold plan of attack that includes an assault on the Kriegsmarine fleet stationed at the Port. Coincidentally, the raid will occur on the same evening as a large SS-Waffen gathering that will leave the streets relatively free of German patrols. Using Brunelle’s contacts, the LDS enlists the aid of several Resistance cells; the squad needs the ship’s moorings cut and their escape route prepped. When darkness falls, the attack begins.

Moving swiftly, the LDS overwhelms a Kreigsmarine observation point that guards the opening to the channel. Agent Belgarde uses the cleared observation point as a sniper platform, covering the squad as they board the Nectaris. The assualt team finds the Captain in his quarters, enjoying the radio and a pipe. They quickly overwhelm him and prepare to deliver their message when the Captain bargains for his life. He claims that SS officers in Oslo, Norway hired him to smuggle goods past their own German comrades. He surrenders the cargo to the squad but attempts an escape, forcing Agent Céline to shoot him. Agent Brasseur discovers that the SS were smuggling several kilograms of small blue gemstones.

Meanwhile, Agent Belgarde is forced to kill several crew members to stop them from discovering the assault team. He advises that the squad stop their original plan to save the crew and get the ship moving. The assault team captures the bridge and Céline plants explosives in the engine room. On the way back to the bridge, he signals the Resistance to cut the moorings and the Nectaris is on its way.

Agent Dubois steers the Nectaris out of the commercial basin and into the main canal. He points the massive tramp steamer at the Kriegsmarine fleet and locks the wheel into place. The assault squad then makes its way to the deck as the cruisers and destroyers of the German fleet open fire on the approaching ship. Under a massive firestorm, the assault team jumps into the river and swims into the carefully prepared storm drains. The Nectaris, now a burning hulk that remains afloat, rams into the side of a Nazi cruiser, cleaving it into two. Both ships burst into flames and sink to the bottom of the river. The wreckage traps the Kriegsmarine fleet in the Port, taking them out of the German war effort for weeks.

Agent Belgarde abandons his gear and makes his way to a safe house. The assault team barely survives the terrible swim through the storm drains but arrive at a pump house. Everyone stays where they are for twelve hours while panic and chaos engulfs the Port of Ostend. After an SS soldier discovers the team in the pump house, they decide to move through the dangerous streets to the safe house. The team is stopped by Heer soldiers, who rob them of their valuable and send them on their way. Fourteen hours after the assault began, the LDS is together again and safe. It takes a couple of days to return to The Park near Langres.

Days later, the LDS watches from a hilltop as an SS battalion with over 500 men makes its way towards Langres …

Operation Ostend Steamer

The LDS decides to send the copy of Unaussprechlichen Kulten (Nameless Cults) back to England via Codename Amber. Unable to understand the strange book, they see it as a valuable work of history and art that must be protected from the Nazis. While preparing the book for travel, the team notices that Forester seems unusually prepared to protect and preserve the book.

In November 1941, the Germans finish their construction of a military ward at the Centre Hospitalier on rue Charité. According to Dr. Bertrand Hughes, the ward was opened to support Operation Typhoon, the German attack on Moscow. The ward is for the long-term rehabilitation of soldiers with missing limbs. There seem to be no plans to open a POW ward.

A few days later, an SS squadron accompanied by Pioneer combat engineers take residency in the Navarre and d’Orval Tower. The LDS investigates and discovers that the upper floor of the d’Orval Tower is being radically altered but the changes are disguised and hidden from the residents of Langres. There is a massive trapdoor in the roof and a gutter system for collecting rainwater. The windows and doors are bricked up and no light gets into the room from outside. The handle of the trapdoor leading to the second floor is missing, which makes the door almost impossible to open.

The LDS is spotted by a Heer motorcycle patrol. Nighttime patrols are not normal in Langres. They escape without being identified but not before Belgarde shoots an SS-Sturmbannführer (Major) from his hidden sniper platform. The Major escapes with his life but is gravely wounded in his left shoulder. Through his scope, Belgarde recognizes the strange symbol on his uniform that they have seen on other SS uniforms.

Forester reveals that the symbol represents a scientific community within the SS known as the Black Sun. He also reveals he is under executive orders from the office of the Prime Minister and he orders the group to stop investigation into the symbol’s meaning immediately. When asked, Forster says his order does allow the LDS to track Black Sun activities, if necessary.

In early December, the LDS receives orders to rendezvous with Codename Amber and prepare for a three day deployment. When they arrive, Lt. Thomas Ashton is furious with HQ. He does not approve of an extended deployment with the LDS because he prefers to keep his operational details secret from the squad since the LDS is in constant risk of discovery. However, he follows orders and arranges to protect the Lysanders. The group then sets off to a safe house. On the way, they encounter a pair of Herr infantry stranded by their broken BMW R75 Motorcycle. Vihtori Råback quickly kills the two soldiers, clearing the way for the LDS to continue.

Operation Wild Hunt

En route to The Park, Céline encounters a Gestapo radio detection truck with SS escorts in the vicinity of Langres. One SS soldier notices Céline but takes no action.

Days later, Constance tells the LDS that the Gestapo is at the hospital in Langres. They go to investigate and witness a streetside meeting between the Heer, the Gestapo, and the hospital staff. Noticing that Dr. Hughes is among those in the meeting, they set off to Indigo to arrange a rendezvous. At Indigo, the group’s young courier, D’Arcy, sets off to the hospital with a signal for the doctor.

Hours later, Nurse Favreau responds to the request for a meeting and arrives at Indigo. She explains that the Germans plan to use half of the hospital and the hotel across the street for military purposes. She hastily returns to Langres, fearing the Gestapo.

Two days later, they meet with Hughes. He says that the Gestapo questioned the entire hospital staff including himself and Favreau. He says they may also open a POW ward and that he would participate in rescues.

About a week later, the LDS gets a distress call from an SOE commando at Indigo. He explains that his mission is to assassinate an important SS linguist. There is a rare opportunity to complete the mission in one day, but his team was discovered and destroyed. He wants the LDS to finish the job. They call England for confirmation and get the cryptic response, “Forester, M here, the SS officer must die.”

Forester insists that the group take the mission and they agree. Soon, they are outside a remote cabin guarded by the SS. Inside is their target, Lt. Freitag, along with a staff member and two prostitutes. Ingeniously, Céline sneaks into the cabin through the floor and eliminates the target. But not before Freitag kills the prostitute in a brutal, ritualistic style. The team enters the cabin and kills the other SS officer and prostitute. They find an old book called Unaussprechlichen Kulten and take it. They also notice a patch with a strange symbol sewn to Freitag’s uniform and they take that, too. Without engaging the bulk of the SS guards, the team retreats to the planes and return to The Park.

Operation Falling Down

The Lost Dream Squadron is tasked with delaying the advance of a Heer armored column to the coast by destroying a small bridge in the French countryside. Despite the poor conditions for stealth flying, the LDS must proceed due to a need to coordinate with an RAF strike on the column. After landing, the group stages a brilliant attack on the heavily guarded bridge. With the defenders defeated, the LDS destroys the bridge and kills several veteran German combat engineers. They also recover valuable information about local German deployments. Unfortunately, the airplanes are discovered by a squadron of Heer infantry. They are defeated in close quarters combat and the planes are soon in the air. Shortly after take-off, the LDS witness a devastating attack on the armored column by the RAF.